[network] @ADMIN; Arrival

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Comments

[bookofnope]

Oh, I grant I've never seen anything exactly like you, but that hardly means I haven't seen several much stranger things. Where I come from we believe in diversity.

[You're weird, Rocket, but Beckett is a professional chronicler of the weird.]

What planet are you from? Is the resemblance to an Earth animal coincidental?

[procyon_lotor]

Not worth bringing up. [ Nope, clearly has nothing to hide. Nope. ] No one's ever heard of it. Too distant and tiny. And ha- as for any resemblance to an animal on Earth? Yeah. No way it's not coincidence.

[bookofnope]

[Nothing to hide are Beckett's favourite words.] You have to admit it's a big coincidence. Cat gods I can understand, since - well, cats. But alien raccoons do tax credibility.

[procyon_lotor]

Since I've never actually seen a raccoon, you can understand why I don't share that sentiment.

[bookofnope]

So all the residents of your planet look like you? And you do not have, say, a history of contact with human settlers, or interstellar wildlife merchants?

[procyon_lotor]

No.

Dude. [ Said in a how-do-you-not-understand-what-I'm-saying kinda tone. ]

None of the animals on my damn planet look like anyone else. Except the humans. They all look the same, and are the same shitbags they've always been.

[ Okay, they don't all look the same, but pretty much. ]

[bookofnope]

[Look, this space raccoons thing is really hard to parse!]

Pardon me, I'm not very good at other planets, though I'm sure sooner or later someone will come through here with tales of space vampires... let me see if I understand correctly. Everyone on your planet is a one of a kind creature, except the humans, which you do have, in the standard... shitbag model.

[procyon_lotor]

[ It's okay, the apologizing helps. And the fact that Beckett seems to understand now. ]

Yep.

[ He waves a hand though, like he's brushing it all off in one motion. ]

That was a long time ago. Who knows what that planet looks like now. But I ain't ever see any animals that looked like any of us ever since.

[bookofnope]

[Being his researcher self, Beckett is sensitive to nuance, and something about this story just doesn't come together right. Like there's a lot that is going unsaid. That's fine: that is, in fact, his expertise.]

If you could describe some of those animals, perhaps my Earthling knowledge might be helpful in identifying them. I assume you will want to know if there's further correlation.

[It's not a safe assumption. But he's testing.]

[procyon_lotor]

[ The temptation is there. It's why Rocket pauses, trying to decide if he wants to talk about this or not. For the first half of his life, he's wanted to know whether there were others out there like him. Now ... now he never wants to think about the fact that there aren't. ]

Maybe next time, when I'm in more of a nostalgic mood — instead of an abducted one.

[ Little does he know, it won't be long before he actually gets to see Beckett in the flesh. ]